Wondering what u guys all think do you think current versions of characters blow away older versions or some older ones still are better? For example I think takara legends arcee is easily better than the earthrise kingdom version

So comparing lines, are their some older mainline versions better than today's mainline

Same goes with masterpiece and 3rd party legends compared with same respected scale

 

G1 Jetfire is pretty tough to beat.

 

WFC Kingdom Galvatron is a better toy than the Deluxe Galvatron released years ago.

WFC Cyclonus and SS scourge are better toys than the ones made years ago.

legacy Prime toys are inferior to the Original prime toys released years ago.

CW Megatron is better than Siege Megatron.

Arcee has yet to get a good update toy. As all the updates suffer from either QC issues or big backpack issues.

 

I would say I prefer 2011's Generations Warpath over the Kingdom version. Don't get me wrong, the latter is kind of brilliant, but I also think the conversion scheme is both way too clever for its own good and also not clever enough (particularly the shield's use in tank mode). I know the H-tank of the 2011 toy may be a sticking point for some, and of course scale is not applicable, but in general it's a no-frills toy that I am more than happy to have take the role of Warpath in my collection.

A fringe example is probably Siege Megatron. Earthrise doesn't do it for me, especially with how it dealt with the turret-barrel chunk and the rear filler panel. I admit this barely counts because these two basically came out one after the other.

In general, I am very happy with a lot of the toys they're putting out these days, they easily supplant many of the older modernised renditions and sometimes by a long shot. That said, there's some I recognize as being better than an older version, but not enough to warrant replacing in my collection, for a myriad of reasons such as budget or how much I actually care for the character.

Yeah, that's not a high hurdle to beat, WFC/ER/KI Arcee stumbles extremely hard when it comes to color distribution (seriously, why did they make the feet pink). The only saving grace is that it's the most articulated mainline version, but only just barely. Otherwise, if you're willing to ignore some of its color discrepancies and don't want to shell out for LG... Well, T30 is still an option. I legitimately like the WFC iteration, enough to fill in the missing colors, but I will readily recommend LG and T30 (and Platinum Edition) over that toy any day.

 

WFC gave us a lot of figures that quickly became Shelfstealers. However, it also introduced us to the "side-grade." Some figures are neglegibly better or worse than the one they're supposed to be replacing. At this point it becomes a matter of style preference. Titan's Return gave us a lot of great figures that are tough to put down, while its sister series, CW and PotP, have a lot of forgettable crap.

I think Perceptor and Blurr are both great examples of TR figures that are tough to upgrade out of. Impossible if you own Legends Blurr.

 

I find that most earlier toys are better than their WFC/Legacy "replacements". The Sunbow-inspired, largely back-to-basics approach is just less interesting and fun to me than the earlier versions in most cases. There are exceptions, of course - ER Sky Lynx is better than CW, if only because the size better suits the character (CW makes a very good Legends-scale version!). Cliffjumper, because there was only one non-red-Bumblebee CJ ever in CHUG. Sideswipe, because I HATE the shoulders on the Universe toy.

Plus so many of the recent figures just seem cheap in comparison to their earlier counterparts - there's an unprecedented level of corner cutting on the last few years of toys. Still the occasional gem, of course, but the value-to-price ratio ain't what it used to be.

 

I generally consider newer versions to be superior (overall). However, there are some exceptions, IMO

T30 Waspinator, Rattrap and Rhinox are better than the Kingdom versions

TFP Arcee is better than Legacy

TR Megatron is better than Siege and Earthrise

I’m tempted to say that T30 Springer is better than Siege Springer…but I actually consider them to be different characters.

 

The Thrilling 30 Beast Trio! Rattrap, Rhinox and Waspinator are great figures that I won't ever replace in my collection.

 

Universe/Henkei/RTS Inferno and Grapple because the WFC mold is too dang tiny.

Universe 2.0 Onslaught because he's awesome.

Henkei Hound because he has an Earth mode (and was ahead of his time in terms of articulation).

Classics and Takara Legends T30 Jetfire because Siege is way too big and the twin red booster engines are a big part of what make him so cool. (But they're both so outdated in terms of engineering and articulation, we really need a new modern take on one of those designs.)

Takara Legends T30 Arcee because... you know.

 

I prefer Classics Bumblebee over the WFC Trilogy version. While the scale of the latter is admittedly preferable to me, the former just has so much personality to it that I can't see myself replacing it.

 

I would say that most of todays figures are a lot better than their predecessors, but terms of major improvements or downgrades?
Older:
First Edition Arcee and Bulkhead > Legacy
T30 Arcee > ER/Kingdom/86
BW Scorponok > Kingdom
Newer:
ER Wheeljack > Universe
Siege Astrotrain > TR
Siege Hound > CW
Legacy Dragstrip > CW
Legacy Motormaster > CW
Legacy Menasor > CW
95% of SS > movie toylines
86 Jazz > POTP
Kingdom Cyclonus > CW

 

This is a very subjective question, and it is extremely difficult to compile an objective list. Anyway, here are my opinions,

From the War For Cybertron Trilogy toy lines:

1. Thrilling 30 Arcee is better
2. The Earthrise Seekers are better
3. Earthrise Sky Lynx is better
4. Thrilling 30 Rattrap is better, but some would argue that his scale is incorrect
5. Thrilling 30 Waspinator is better, but some would argue his design is a little stylised
6. Thrilling 30 Rhinox is better
7. Kingdom Cyclonus is better, but outside of the scale issue, Universe Cyclonus; especially the TakaraTOMY's Henkei! Henkei! version with his purple Chrome is still a beauty to behold
8. Kingdom Galvatron is better

From the Studio Series 86 toy line:

1. Reveal The Shield Jazz is better
2. The Junkions are better. If the Reveal The Shield Junkion moulds did not have a breakage problem, I would state that they are equals if you do not care about Generation 1 accuracy
3. Scourge is better
4. The Dinobots are better

I think the rest are sidegrades, and really a matter of preference; by preference I mean,

1. Do you care about G1 Accuracy?
2. Do you care about Scale?
3. Do you care about Headmasters?

Frankly, if you are anal on all 3 points, then it is very simple, just collect from the War for Cybertron Trilogy toy lines and onward. Otherwise,

Examples:

1. Universe Ironhide, and Ratchet are regarded as crap, but their Earthrise versions has their Robot mode Foot blatantly sticking out of their Vehicle modes
2. Universe Cheetor is regarded as crap, but the Kingdom version has a breakage problem
3. Generations Blurr is regarded as not G1 looking at all, but can you really state that it is bad toy? Because its modern aesthetic is beautiful
4. Thrilling 30 Springer is regarded as a good Springer toy, but some would argue that his design is not G1 looking enough

 

The recent Macross stuff is pretty... pretty good  

 

I didn't opt to replace my classics Datsun trio. The only improvement I feel the wfc ones make is the heads. Admittedly, the heads are huge improvement. But, If prowl is going to be a big shot in the autobot command chain, he can't be teeny.

 

Whether I replace an older figure depends on how good the new one looks, the engineering, quality control, and fun factor. Unless it just blows me away in all the above reasons, I usually opt for the older version.

I pretty much upgraded alot of my figures during Siege/ER/Kingdom with a few exceptions:

*I opted to keep T30 Waspinator over Kingdom. Nothing against Kingdom Waspinator but I didn't feel like it was a big enough improvement over T30 to warrant upgrading.

*T30 deluxe Arcee is still my preferred choice over ER Arcee. I know the T30 has the black paint apps but I still think it's a superior mold over ER.

*WFC Ultra Magnus was an interesting situation. I have CW Ultra Magnus and I still absolutely love that mold. I did also buy Siege Ultra Magnus because I was fond of the RID 1.0 style alt mode. I treat CW Magnus and Siege Magnus as two different characters (CW is Minimus and Siege is the original Magnus). But I opted to pass on Kingdom Ultra Magnus because I didn't like how small his earth style trailer looked compared to the cab.

 

The FOC videogame deluxe Prime (the simplified blocky one with the ball-joint waist that allows for an arching back, not the complex sleek one before it) still holds up compared to the Primes that have come after it.

 

Did they even make a Hound after Universe?  

 

I love how controversial this take is. But you're right, that mold is pretty stellar. Somehow it's the most articulated deluxe. I have the mangus version with that killer giant sword

 

United Jazz is still best Jazz.

 

I haven't been collecting as long as most people on this site (started in 2019), and while I do have a small number of figures from earlier lines, the vast majority of my collection consists of WFC Trilogy and SS86. My knowledge of figures from before that is mostly from pictures. I will say based on what I have seen, I strongly prefer the versions I have over the older ones for the most part.

Count me among those that prefer T30 Arcee to ER/Kingdom. Better paint, better backpack, better weapons, and cool light piping. I know the black on her isn't Sunbow accurate, but I think it really enhances the overall look of the figure. The ports on the upper legs for the guns are nice, and I like that the swords can be stored in the backpack. ER/K Arcee isn't bad, but other than articulation, T30 wins easily with me.

At least the ER/K mold gave us Netflix Elita-1 (which I like a lot) and a Lifeline figure that I could get for a price that isn't ridiculous.

Speaking of Elita-1, I prefer the Netflix and POTP versions to the new Legacy one. POTP is a really cool figure with a bit of an imposing presence, and I like that she turns into a jet. I like Legacy Elita, and she does a better job dealing with the vehicle kibble, but Netflix Elita is a better looking bot overall, including having better colors and a better alt mode. Legacy is good though and if they hadn't given us the Netflix one, I'd have bought it in a heartbeat.

I like Siege Bluestreak and Smokescreen over ER, but prefer ER Prowl to Siege. I prefer ER Ironhide to Siege, but Siege Ratchet over ER. Siege Sideswipe and Red Alert both look better than their Kingdom versions. Mind you, I'm glad to have all of them.

Kingdom Galvatron is much better than Titans return, although the latter does have it's good points.

SS86 Perceptor > TR Perceptor, but not by a whole lot. Honestly, I'm not sure the upgrade was worth the money for me, but time will tell.

I see people bringing up the G1 Jetfire toy, and I both agree and disagree with this. The VF-1 Valkyrie IS definitely the cooler design, and by a large margin. It's one of my all time favorite mecha designs. To me though, it's a Valkyrie, not a Transformer. Siege Jetfire fits with Transformers much better IMO.